


He’s Not Alone

by AishaStark



Series: Into A World So Familiar Yet So Different [1]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Accords are needed!, Clint Bashing, Falling into a fictional dimension, M/M, Multi, Natasha Bashing, Not Canon Compliant, Self Insert Fic, Shuri is awesome, Steve Rogers bashing, Tags Are Hard, Tony deserves a hug, T’Challa is a good bro, Wakanda is on Tony’s side, Wanda Bashing, and a good partner, bashing in general, not team Cap friendly, waking up in the MCU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2020-09-26 19:16:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20394802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AishaStark/pseuds/AishaStark
Summary: Tony deserves so much more, at least that’s what Robin thinks as he watches Civil War, full of emotion despite the fact he knew it was just a movie. He goes to sleep filled with ideas of how conflicts could have been handled, what he would have done if he was in their shoes. He didn’t expect to wake up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, definitely not as Pepper Potts’ PA. Well damn, time to roll up his sleeves, the Infinity War was coming and he was going to make sure thepurple dick face lost his hand before he could attempt to snap his fingers. And take Tony Stark on a date. And introduce Peter Parker to Shuri. Don’t forget fan girl over the entire scenario. Priorities, priorities, he’d figure it out, right after he passes out from shock.





	1. Chapter 1

Robin rolled his shoulders, damn they were sore. He’d gone out to the archery range for the first time in three months and thankfully he wasn’t rusty, but he really should have stretched or something. Robin William Payne, was half-English (on his ‘absent from his life’ dad’s side) and an archer, people called him Robin Hood, his love for hoodies didn’t help discourage the moniker so he gave up. He did start introducing himself as Rob but it never stuck once they found out his name. After a scalding hot shower he rendezvoused to his living room and proceeded to continue Captain America: Civil War. Robin was a huge fan of the MCU. He’d watched all the movies at least eight times, though he’d had to cut back during his finals. He sipped his coke, it was official- he now had a Masters degree in economics. What to do with it though? He turned back to the television only to wince when Cap’s shield slammed into Iron Man’s chest, no matter how many times he watched it, it still gave him the chills. It was so very _cold_, a brilliant man who truly deserved loyalty, betrayed by those he held dear. And the reason for said betrayal, he didn't want to play follow-the-leader with the self righteous prink prancing around in the American flag. He shook his head, he was reading way to deeply into the scene, he really couldn't help but see the characters as more than just actors playing their part, they were beings in their own right, they had no idea they were being watched be thousands. Their lives a form of entertainment. He yawned. There he goes again, his childhood conspiracy theories rising to the surface of his mind due to his tiredness. After the movie, Rob dragged himself to his bed, life was so fucked up in the MCU, it would both be a dream and a nightmare to live in it. “I’d definitely survive,” he muttered before falling into Morpheus’ arms. He didn’t see the flash of light that filled his room. That was probably for the best, he would have freaked out and probably knocked himself out. Don’t need the main character of the story in a concussion before it actually begins.

Rob woke to the sound of his alarm trolling beside him. He slammed his hand on it and sunk back into his pillow as silence reigned once more. He was a second from falling when his phone beeped. He jumped up,” Damn you,” he yelled to his ceiling, why did he have so many alarms? He checked the notification on his phone and did a double take. Was he dreaming, he pinched himself. Nope, pain receptors were working. It couldn’t even a prank, no one could get into his phone without the password. He was confused, why was ‘Interview with Pepper Potts’ on his phone? Robin did the only thing that would probably make sense at that point, he asked Google. Then he freaked out, and walked headfirst into a wall. He woke up ten minutes later. "Whoever's watching me right now is probably laughing their ass off,"he groused, rubbing the bruise. The cause of his fainting was more due to shock than head injury, so at least he didn't need a hospital. He glared at his phone, he just had to be the idiot who claimed he could survive in the MCU. The fates hated him. He perked up, on the other hand..... "HOLY FUCK!!!! There are SUPERHEROES!," he yelled, jumping on the bed for a couple of minutes, before remembering he had an interview. He rubbed his hands together, "They won't know what hit them," he told his reflection, he was finding it a bit difficult not to rub his hands together while chuckling nefariously, but then he didn't want people to think he was a villain, he wasn't sure if his theory of being watched by an audience was right. God, one more thing to be paranoid about. For once he was desperately hoping he was wrong.

An hour later, he was gawking at Stark Industries.”At least now I know what to do with my degree. Though I'm fairly certain Stark Industries has a horde of its own economists,” he sighed sipping his coffee. He was being calm and rational about the whole matter, he could freak out again later when he was alone in his bedroom, preferably with a bottle of whiskey. For now he’d try not to embarrass himself in front of one of the toughest women in the MCU, Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts.Rob raised an eyebrow at the other candidates, he was starting to doubt this was an interview for a lawyer position. Noticing he was the only male in the room, he held in a groan, the position was probably as someone’s assistant, hopefully Pepper’s. Tony Stark may be hot but he just got here, he did not want to deal with the eccentricity without a game plan. So he turned his attention back to his _competition_. They ranged from just out of high school innocent looking young adults to straight out of a porn magazine middle-aged women. He couldn’t help wondering if the bosomy red head seated beside him could even type with how long her fake mani was. He was also impressed with how much hair spray must have been used to make that gravity-defying blob on her head.“Robin Payne,” someone called. He stood up, straightened his tie and walked into the office. This was it. The challenge that would either place him at the heart of the events in this world or have him watch from the sidelines. This was it, if he wanted to make a difference in this universe, this was the starting point. He sent a silent prayer to every deity he’d heard off, please let him get this job. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A job interview, a redhead spy, and Tony Stark

Robin was impressed with Miss Potts’ ability to multitask, she was skimming through his resume while signing documents and taking on the phone. She really needed an assistant.“You have an impressive resume. Why did you want to be my PA?,” she asked eyes watching him impassively . “Experience. I don’t want to stay in ‘accounting’ forever Miss Potts. One day I might want to move up on my career, I need to be able to lead and who better to learn from than one of the leaders of Stark Industries,” Robin replied. “Flattery will get you everywhere,” She deadpanned. Rob frowned,” Stark Idustries is a huge company. Being CEO would involve many duties, and to keep it running, skills are needed, which you have obviously. These skills can’t be learnt in a class, which is why I’m applying.” Pepper considered his words, he hadn’t mentioned Tony and there was no chance he’d sleep with him. Perhaps, he’d be well suited to Tony. ‘Plus he’d get experience dealing with billionaires who don’t listen’, she thought wryly. “Thank you for your time Mr Payne. We’ll contact you,” she smiled shaking the young man’s hand as they rose. “Thank you Miss Potts,” Rob smiled.

The moment he got to his apartment, he started researching. He got as much info as possible about Stark Industries, Tony Stark, Iron Man, and even Shield. It seemed he got placed a while before Iron Man 2. It kinda made sense, Pepper had yet to interview the Black Widow. All those candidates must have paved the way to Natalie Rushman’s victory. After all those women, Widow must have seemed like a godsend. Robin frowned, Tony Stark was a genius, a dying genius, but a genius. Did he really not notice Natasha Romanov was a honeypot? Or was he just acting? He groaned he needed a painkiller and a large cup of coffee if he was going go get through his game plan - aka ‘Make sure endgame didn’t happen, while taking ass and kicking names.’ Robin was half awake, drunk on caffeine and drooling over the tv remote as he stared at what he had spent hours scribbled into his journal. Just as he was dozing off, coming down from his caffeine high, his phone rang. He promptly fell off his chair. He climbed back on the rotating mountain of hell,“Payne,” he sighed into the device. “What!?,” he promptly fell off his chair again.

He was hired!

Sweet! He was going to be Tony Stark’s PA.

Hold up!

Shit!

Robin slumped against the wall of his shower. He had intended to work from the sidelines. Pepper may not have been involved with the Avengers but she had the power, she owned the Rogues’ (the not yet backstabbers that called themselves Tony’s team) piggy bank. A few whispers and some good acting, he could probably influence a few decisions, make a few waves, stop funding the Avengers’ little missions to find Bucky. Now he’d have to interact with Iron Man. He’d be on Shield’s radar. Despite his earlier bravado, this wasn’t fiction anymore. It was dangerous, these people could kill him, maim him, torture or worse control his mind. Plus he’d have to repress his crush on the gorgeous _straight _man he was working for. This was going to be torture. And he hadn’t even started.

Tony was in his lab when Pepper informed him of his new assistant. He opened the file reluctantly, flicking through it, before turning to one of his holo-screens and doing more thorough research. British, late-twenties, disowned and worked his way through university, single, won numerous archery competitions and a black belt in karate. Loved Star Trek and some dude named Connor Maynard. Tony raised an eyebrow, he definitely wasn’t a Shield agent. Director One-Eyed Disappointed Glare must be so pissed, his honeypot had competition now. He wouldn’t be entertaining any spiders now, hell there was barely any reason for her to interact with him- unless of course she decided to seduce him. He rolled his eyes, fat chance. Besides, he rubbed his hands together, he had a new Brit assistant to deal with, plus he had to find a replacement for the palladium in his chest or he'd die of blood poisoning. He had a little less on his plate now that he didn't have to keep a constant charade for SHIELD. He didn't even have to worry about the PA, considering how much people complained about him, he doubted it'd be long before he quit- he gave him four months tops. He didn’t realize it’d take a lot to make Robin quit, nothing short of dying. The genius didn’t realise he’d be stuck with the man, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death did part them. And he’d be so grateful. For now, however, he made plans, and started writing up his bucket list - Rhodey had to be Iron Man, Pepper CEO of SI, Happy needed to be promoted, the bots needed to be taken care off if he... Dum-E was so being sent to community college if he kept playing with the fire extinguisher .

Robin was up at the crack of dawn for the next two weeks, working out at the gym, training in a nearby dojo. Taking his bow to the nearest archery range, anything to make him feel like he was able to handle this universe. He went to sleep with aching muscles and fear and anxiety crippled mind. Then, the day before his first day of work, he went to Starbucks and ordered a caramel frappe - he sipped it and stared out the window at all the busy people. He didn’t notice the cameras of the shop zooming in on him or the red head woman watching him from behind a tall foam cup. For this one day, he was blissfully unaware of his surroundings and the world he had found himself in. He wondered about the latest Beyoncé album as he sipped his drink.

Natasha Romanoff was annoyed. She was one of Shield’s deadliest agents and her profiling skills were the best. That was the reason she was chosen to infiltrate Stark Industries. But now, due to this hoodie-wearing idiot she was forced into camera study. There was less reason for her to interact with Stark as Pepper’s assistant as this Robin Payne was a buffer between them, the middleman, if only she could cut him out.Unfortunately, she was forced into watchdog duty. SHIELD needed to know Payne's loyalties, see if he could be bought over and if so what could be used as leverage. So far all she'd seen was a rich kid trying to prove daddy wrong. Stark was bad enough, now there was the possibility of having to deal with a younger rebellious version. 

Tony's curiosity was peaked. It seemed like his new soon to be assistant wasn't too pleased at the idea of working for him if the aftermath of his conversation with Pepper was anything to go by. Or perhaps he wasn't fond of the eyes soon to be on him. Speaking of eyes, the red head watching behind the menu wasn't exactly subtle. Seriously, where did they find these people? Tony was also impressed with the man's sweet tooth, watching him sip his was through four tall caramel frappes within the hour with fascination, maybe he finally found someone who wouldn't nag him about his coffee addiction. At the very least, he found someone he could possibly bribe with sweets to look the other way. He turned off the screen, he really shouldn't be spying on people. "Many may consider it morally wrong Sir," Jarvis stated in agreement, making Tony jump. "Seems like I said that out loud. Thanks for the info J, I'll try to remember that," the genius stated rolling his eyes as he drank another one of his green shakes.

The genius started tinkering, twelve hours to show time.

Robin laid out his suit, twelve hours to the beginning of this story.

The Widow sipped her wine, twelve hours till the true start of her assignment.

Twelve hours. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment. I need them as motivation to keep writing. Constructive criticism is appreciated. My 2nd chapter, please be kind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day on the job

Robin was rather proud he managed to keep his passive mask steady as the day proved to be the worst he'd ever experienced.

It started with him almost getting mugged. Thanks to his untied shoelace, he ended up tripping and fell straight into the would be mugger. Someone called the police and they had to get his statement.

Welcome to New York.

He was about five minutes late, he was frowned upon by Ms Potts, introduced to a billionaire, who would not stop flirting and given a mountain of paperwork to go through and what seemed like hundreds of emails to go through. The phone calls were hell. If he had to entertain one more fan girl, he was going to stab the telephone with an arrow. Though considering his luck today, it’d probably just continue ringing. He just kept breathing.

Someone spilt coffee on his jacket. Keep breathing.

Mr Stark missed two mandatory meetings so he got yelled at because they couldn’t exactly yell at Tony. Keep breathing.

A fan girl demanded she meet Mr Stark or she’d jump off a building. Keep breathing and call 911.

Another intern poured hot coffee over his finally completed paperwork in a sad attempt to flirt with him. Keep breathing and find the copier.

Time to clock out. Deep breath in. Text message - _Could you get me the updates file from RnD. Thanks_ ~ ;). Deep breath out.

As he approached Tony’s office, file in hand, he was pretty impressed with his perseverance and for keeping a lid on his temper. Until, he found an empty office. His phone beeped -_ Not at office. At mansion. Do hurry up_ ~ :). Robin wanted to jump on the stupid file in frustration but he knew there were cameras in the office, that was probably the reaction Tony was aiming for. He took a deep breath and kept his cool as he called a taxi. Time to formally meet Tony Stark. He really wanted to murder him. Unfortunately, that would flip the Marvel universe on its side. 

Keeping his expression clear,he rang the doorbell, it wasn’t exactly difficult, high end society required it or you’d be picked apart by vultures, he learnt that years ago. One of the more useful lessons his parents forced into him.He raised an eyebrow as the door opened and a disembodied voice greeted him,

“Good evening Mr Payne. Sir is in the lab. Please leave the file on the table.”

“No problem. And who am I speaking to?,” Robin asked with barely suppressed glee.

“Jarvis, Mr Payne. I am Mr Stark’s AI.”

“Well it’s a pleasure Jarvis. How much does he pay you?.”

“Not nearly enough,” the AI snarked.

Robin gave a light chuckle,” I know how you feel mate. Anyhow good evening. It was nice to meet you,” Robin turned to one of the cameras, and nodded “Mr Stark,” before turning on his heel.

Tony jumped slightly when blue eyes stared back at him from his screen. Looks like his assistant wasn’t clueless or quitting anytime soon. Tony glared at the retreating figure. He was not impressed. He wasn’t! Jarvis didn’t believe him. He could feel the AI judging him.

Robin was disappointed, he could admit it. He didn’t spend more than two minutes in Stark’s presence and barely had a conversation with the man. He felt like a donkey with a carrot being dangled in front of him, only the carrot was in the form of a luscious hunk of genius billionaire. He couldn’t decide if this was better or worse. Anyhow he had digging to do, had to find the Stark Expo fairground model and figure out how to bring it to Tony’s attention without SHIELD’s interference. He had barely stepped out of the gates of Tony’s mansion when he felt something pierce his neck. He winced and pulled out a dart, frowning at it, he looked around and attempted to move back into the safety of Tony’s mansion. But this dart wasn’t the usual kind, it worked way too fast, he stumbled to the ground. His vision blurred and his breathing became laboured, he could feel his air ways constricting, he gasped and he made out a pair of black heels and a flash of red and gold before everything faded to black.

Robin woke to the sound of beeping and the sight of a white ceiling. “Hospital,” he said with weak disgust, immediately grimacing at the soreness of his throat, it felt like someone had sandpapered it. “I know how you feel” Robin turned towards the source of the voice, his fuzzy drugged mind not recognising it. He couldn’t describe the shock he felt when he saw Tony Stark sitting beside his bed. Robin eyes narrowed, the man looked terrible. He hair was messed up, and he had bags under his eyes. He apparently didn’t even bother to apply his make up properly, Robin could see the spidery purple vines peeking out from above the collar of the turtleneck he wore.

“You need to look through the blueprints of the Stark Expo fairgrounds,” Robin blurted out ,” Mr Stark,” he added as an afterthought as he mentally berated his high on painkillers self. Tony’s eyebrow rose, “Right. I’ll do that. Jarvis add that to the bucket list.” Tony leaned forward ,” So about what happened.” “Tranq dart. I’m allergic to one of the immobilising drugs. One accident and I never went hunting again,” Robin gave an exaggerated shiver. Well he tried to, his weak body wasn’t doing his dramatic sides any favours. Still he saw Tony’s lips twitch, he counted that as a win. “So Tony Stark, but you knew that,” Tony offered his hand. “Robin Payne, but you already knew that. I’ll shake your hand when I’m capable of moving it,” came the archer’s wry reply. Which he immediately regretted when he saw guilt fill the billionaire’s expression for a brief second before being hidden behind an expressionless mask. “I’m sorry about that. You’ll be compensated and the hospital bills will be covered".  


“I could get you moved to another job. I mean considering this is kinda my fault,” the billionaire rubbed the back of his neck not meeting his eyes. Robin would have snarled if he could feel his face. He was not letting Stark go through that 'Every fucking thing that happens is my fault bullshit', “You asked someone to hit me with a tranquilizer dart? Wow you really want to get rid off me,” Robin couldn’t help but laugh at the man’s expression, only to regret it as his throat began to feel like it was being stabbed with a million hot needles. “No I mean, it’s because you’re associating with me” Robin shrugged,” Could be. Could also be a ransom deal, my dad’s pretty well to do. Old money and shit” “ You’re not.. yeah,” Tony sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. Robin was about to comment on the merits of sleep when the nurse walked in. “ Time for meds kid. I’ll see ya when you get out,” a two fingered salute and he was out.

Tony sighed as he got into his car. He slumped back and closed his eyes. He actually enjoyed his conversation with the kid. Someone with a sense of sarcasm, who gave as good as he got. A possible friend, who also understood the downfalls of their huge bank accounts. Too bad he almost died, Tony scowled. You’d think SHIELD would fucking do some fucking research! Unless they wanted to kill him and put the red head in his place, he grit his teeth. Not happening.

He sighed, “The Stark Expo?,” he wondered out loud, as he sat in his lab staring at his green shake. He pulled up the fairground blueprint.

He choked on his shake.

He enlarged the hologram, clearing away the unnecessary.

He took a deep breath.

”Jarvis,” he breathed.

“Yes sir?”

”Send my PA a gift basket”

”Yes sir”

Tony wasn’t an idiot, he’d find out why his little Brit was found this little piece of work so important it was the first thing he mentioned upon waking up from unconsciousness. For now however, he had some engineering to get through. And then a party to throw and a spider to squish.  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hammers, Whips and Suspicions. Plus Robin trying not to swoon or drool.

Robin tried to ignore the hazel eyes watching him as he went through the work he missed due to his week in the antiseptic filled white halls of hell. He wasn't at Stark Industries however. Nope, he was at Tony's mansion. The man's excuse: 'I don't want my favorite assistant to be attacked by anymore rogue darts, therefore you're staying where I can keep an eye on you.' Pepper was just very amused. As he sent off the final email with a sigh of relief, he finally looked up at the man who'd been trying to get his attention for the past four hours. Damn if that thought didn't make him feel butterflies.Blue eyes locked with brown. Robin couldn't help what happened next, it was a built-in reflex. Blame his cousins!!!

He chucked as Tony rubbed his eyes while cursing.

"Seriously. You blew in my eye? What are you six?"

"You were the one staring."

"I'm trying to get you to reveal your secrets."

Robin made a big show of gulping and and looking around nervously, " I'm, I'm, I...I had no idea. I didn't want to tell you. But Tony..... you're a nosy bastard," he deadpanned.Tony stared at him for a second, his lips twitched and before long he was wiping away tears of mirth. "Kid, you should be on broadway or something." Robin shrugged, after his dad reamed him for singing at Sunday school, there was no way he could stand on a stage and not end up shot. He shuddered at the memory of dark closets and the crack of leather resounding in the air.

"Hey kid. You alright?"

Robin blinked and turned back to the billionaire staring at him pensively.

"Fine. Zoned out a bit there. Do you have to call me kid?"

Tony was impressed with how high his assistant could raise his eyebrow.

"Yup. You're younger than me"

"By what? Five, six years?"

"As flattering as that was, I'm thirty-nine and you, according to your file, are twenty-seven. Which tallies up to twelve years and therefore," Tony pointed at his PA "Kid".

Meanwhile, Robin was gaping at the man. Realizing he probably had stupid expression on his face, he schooled his features and glanced at the clock. "Shit, its late," he cursed, packing up his laptop and the files he needed to go through. Tony simply observed the flurry of activity that was his assistant and typed something on his tablet. "Night Hood," he yelled as Robin made his way out off the manor, Tony smirked as he heard the echo of ,"I take it back, kid's fine." 

Robin stared at his notebook. VANKO. The Russian was going to be a problem, especially considering the Grand Prix was in a week. While Tony probably wouldn't decide to get into a race car. Keyword: _probably_. There was still going to be altercation. Maybe he should convince Tony to do a lap around the trek, there were less civilians on the racecourse and with his health improving he shouldn't have too much trouble restraining the Russian. Robin glared at the ceiling of his bedroom, there were way too many hypotheticals. Too many chances for things to go sideways, Vanko may not even show up at the race because of the Butterfly Effect bullshit. Seriously speaking, who knows what kind of waves Robin had caused in this universe because of his meddling. But then he remembered The Snap and the immense sacrifice made by a man always trying to do the right thing, the daughter he left behind too young to comprehend the loss of her father and Spiderman, trying so hard to follow in his idol's footsteps. He bit back a groan. He couldn't stop meddling, whatever power placed him in this world didn't do it for him to watch from the sideline. At least, he didn't think it did, he really didn't want to think about the '_millions of people watching his daily struggles as a form of entertainment'_ theory. "Anyhow, back to psychopath," he muttered to himself. What exactly would he be able to do? What other factor the movie was he missing? Something he could influence, something that would change the plot line. He closed his eyes, going through the movie slowly in his mind when it hit him. He sat up and smirked before picking up his phone. Time to do a little googling. He needed information on Justin Hammer.

"Drink?," Tony asked his oddly jumpy PA as they passed a bar. The Brit merely looked up and beyond him, "Journalist," he stated pointedly before pulling back Pepper's chair for her and bringing up some earlier conversation about documents and some other boring matters of business. Tony restrained himself from rolling his eyes, Robin had been quiet all day, only giving more than one word answers to Pepper. Tony wasn't irked by it. He swirled his glass of whiskey as he was approached by a familiar journalist, ok maybe he was a little irked. What could he say, he liked having people's complete attention. He had slight narcissistic tendencies, sue him. Then, the day got worse. He was approached by Justin Hammer. The blonde asshole would not leave him alone, as his eyes wandered he noted Robin approaching him. Thank whatever god there was, he was about to be saved. "Excuse me Sir, but Mr Stark, Miss Potts requires your attention," Robin's accent was clear and sharp and drew Hammer's attention immediately. Robin didn't react to the obvious once over he was given, and only as Hammer offered his hand in a handshake did Robin acknowledge his presence."Its fine Tony. I'm sure this young man wouldn't mind keeping me company while you take care of Miss Potts. Women tend to be very demanding,"the inventor grinned. Tony simply watched the interaction, while he didn't like Hammer, he could handle him. The looks he was giving Robin however were disgusting and Tony wasn't about to leave Robin alone with him. He looked to Pepper who was obviously starting to lose her patience, maybe he could leave him for a couple minutes. Robin inwardly both cheered and grimaced as Tony walked off to see to Pepper. He got what he wanted. Now for the hard part.

After ten minutes of assuring Pepper he wouldn't get into a race car, he had no idea who told her about it considering it was a passing thought back when he was dying. JARVIS he figured. Turning back to where he left his PA and the Pain in the Ass, he found them gone. That raised alarm bells. He moved towards the bar, hoping to see either one or both of them, when pandemonium broke out. Tony looked out onto the racetrack to see a men with dreads holding two electrical whips splitting apart race cars. " Well J, time for work," he mumbled as Happy passed him his case. He suited up and got ready to take on the baddie, hoping Robin was alright.

Robin was NOT alright! But he'd been in worse situations. A little digging and he'd found Hammer had an inclination towards younger men with English accents, a little disturbing. Scratch that, very disturbing. So he decided to run with the one stupid idea a week of thinking yielded. Distract Hammer long enough to let Tony defeat and capture Vanko, Pepper probably wouldn't let any news reporters leak the footage and hopefully he'd be able to find a way to get Vanko thrown in some hole deep enough Hammer wouldn't bother digging him out from. He didn't, however, expect Hammer to drug him. He realized it the moment he sipped the drink. He saw the way the man's eyes had lit up and how eagerly the man followed him when he excused himself to use the washroom. He hadn't consumed enough to pass out, just enough to feel tipsy. He fought off the groping hands for a while and was ready to knee the asshole in the balls, when some men ran screaming into the restrooms, alarming Hammer. He managed to drag himself into a cubicle and lock himself in. Waiting for the dizziness to pass. He must have dozed off or something, because the next thing he was aware off was Happy shaking him awake. And then being poked with something, before it went dark. His only thought, 'Not again.'

This time he didn't wake up in a hospital. Thankful for small mercies, he sat up slowly and found he was on a familiar couch. He was about to stand up when he was enveloped in the arms of a feminine figure, warm and sweet smelling. "Let him go Pep, kid needs to breathe." Huh, so he was being hugged by his boss. "I'm fine Ms Potts," he said softly patting her gently on the back. The woman squeezed him once more before standing up with fire in her eyes," We're going to sue him! I don't care if we can't prove he drugged Robin. I'll find something and make it stick," she growled before walking off with her handphone. "Glad you're alright Rob," Happy squeezed his shoulder before following Pepper.

" You really need to stop fainting. You're starting to become a damsel in distress" 

"Good thing I work for a superhero then"

"I'll bankrupt the bastard"

Robin looked at the billionaire speculatively, "Only if I get to help."

"Have a drink Hood. Things happened while you were fighting off Hammer's advances"

Robin watched through the one way mirror as Tony spoke to Vanko. He watched the Russian, trying to figure out what he'd might have to do to stop Vanko from trying to kill Tony. When the man looked straight at him. Cold, dead eyes staring right into his. The Russian man gave a small smirk as he mouthed a few words. He then bit down on something and Robin stared in silence as the soldiers rushed into the room trying to resuscitate the man. Five minutes later, Tony walked out. "Had some kind of pill in his tooth." And that was that.

That night as Robin lay in bed, he contemplated the day. Vanko had him shook. That final move wasn't something he could have predicted. He rolled onto his stomach, he had three meetings to get to tomorrow, he really needed to fall asleep. Sleep didn't come easy to Robin that night. He could only hope it'd get easily before the Avengers movie began. Unfortunately that was not to be . After all, they still had a spider and her handlers to deal with. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make me write. So please comment !!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donuts, Spiders and One-eyed pirates

Robin watched the projection on the wall attentively. Like in the movie, Tony had decided to go get donuts... in his Iron Man suit. 'Cause why not right? He also decided to perch in the giant donut like a giant metal bird. And of course, that’s when Nick Fury decides to approach.

“Jarvis scan the perimeter. Something doesn’t feel right about this scenario”

”Done Mr Payne, it seems the Black Widow is approaching”

”Could you please inform Mr Stark”

”Already have, Sir wishes me to tell you , ‘Stop worrying Hood, Just sit back and watch the master at work’ “

Robin scoffed at the nickname, but kept his eyes on the screen. Fury’s posture was practically screaming the fact he didn’t like Tony and that was odd in itself. You’d think a spy would know how to hide his emotions better . Openly disapproving of someone wasn’t exactly a good method to win someone over. The whole thing was fishy. It seemed like they _wanted_ to stay on Tony's bad side. But that was stupid, surely they knew," Oh," Robin felt his mind pause as he realized something. Fury knew about the genius' guilt complex about his weapons, he was building on it. Because Tony would do anything to make things right, even if that mean playing nice to an annoying pirate and the spider on his shoulder, because Tony's convinced that's the only way he can protect the world. That also meant Fury had permission to be as much as an asshole he wants to be because he's convinced Tony won't do anything about it. And in the movies Tony doesn't, instead he actively tries to do anything that would result in the Avengers approval. Well, Robin would just have to ensure that didn't happen. 

Robin found his attention drawn back to the screen by Jarvis' asking if Robin wanted Sir to get anything from the doughnut place. Robin blinked and shook his head with a polite refusal and took a seat at one of the work benches. Pulling out his phone, he started going through emails. 

Tony entered the lab to find his assistant on his phone, not even glancing up for a second as he landed. He couldn't help the pout his lips formed, what did a guy have to do to get some attention around here. "Did you ever intend to get involved with SHIELD?," Robin asked suddenly, eyes still glued to his phone. Tony grabbed a cold drink from the mini fridge in his lab and flopped Indian style on the floor. "Not really. They're kind of shady," Tony whispered, smirking at the deadpan look he got from his assistant, _made you look_. Robin just pressed on, "So why are they so concerned about your health? And if they could have helped you in the first place, why didn't they? I mean, they're supposed to be the good guys right? What do they get out of waiting for you to get desperate, then dangling a solution in front of you like a carrot in front of a donkey?." Tony looked thoughtful, then paused.

"Are you calling me an ass?"

Robin blinked at the older man, then grinned, "Huh, guess I am." He dodged the empty plastic bottle the engineer tossed at his head. 

"You have a point"

Robin frowned at the genius, they'd been going through Tony's stack of SI paperwork for about four or five hours and he was too tired to interpret Tony speak.

"About?"

"SHIELD. I'm guessing they want something from me. Nothing new", the genius grumbled pointedly staring at the screen in front of him.

Robin just watched the man, saw how his shoulders tensed and how he seemed much older than he was. He shrugged, "You are Tony Stark. Your a billionaire, a genius and a pretty cool guy. Everyone wants a piece of you. You're just gonna have to say no. Its called playing hard to get. You'd think a playboy would understand that concept." He saw Tony's lips twitch, "I'll have you know I'm a reformed man. Pepper's the only one for me." And damn, if that statement didn't make Robin's heart ache a little. He mentally steeled himself, he wasn't here to seduce Tony Stark, as much as he wanted to. He'd be satisfied with the brunette's friendship as long as he had it.

He decided to order dinner and make a huge fuss about eating alone, just to make sure the genius took a break, before heading home for the night.

He gave a tired sigh as he stood under the hot spray of the shower. Technically, Iron Man 2 was over. Vanko was dead, Hammer in heavy debt and facing bankruptcy, Tony had discovered his new element and wasn't dying and Natasha Romanoff had probably submitted her shitty personality profile. He was about to turn off the spray, when he heard it. It was a very soft sound, the click of his bedroom door. He'd only heard it cause he was listening for it. Looks like the intruder had finally left the room. He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into his room. He opened some drawers and picked out his clothes, dressing quickly before laying on his bed with his phone in hand. He pulled up Tony's number under,'_Number 1 Boss', _and started texting. The next minute, the power went out in the building. He could hear his neighbor's complaints through the thin walls, but he was way more interested in the sound of someone tripping down what seemed like a couple flights of stairs. The lights came back on after an hour or two. 

Mr Jack Connoly, who was not a resident of the building or visiting anyone in the building, had a concussion and a broken arm, and was arrested for attempted burglary with a stolen keycard. You'd think a SHIELD agent would be stealthier. Still, Robin figured there were bugs in his home and on his computer, since his phone was with him in the shower, yes he was that paranoid, so he'd have to watch himself.

'I wonder if they'll offer me cash to spy on Tony,' he wondered, he shook his head, 'No, that was the British Government. Wrong fandom. But I'll keep my hopes up. If Jarvis keeps their agents out, they may not have a choice.' He winced, hopefully that meeting wouldn't involve a tranq dart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter completed. Yay!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang's back together

Robin couldn't believe how quickly time had flown. It had been nearly a year since he started working as Tony's assistant, and now he was watching as Tony fixed the mini reactor that would make his tower run on clean energy. There had been ups and downs, when Tony and Pepper broke up, meeting Rhodey - who was awesome by the way, and ignoring the fact that SHIELD was spying on him. Between him and JARVIS, they'd managed to get rid of most of the more obvious moles, while feeding fake info to others. It was terrifyingly fun, JARVIS was a scary being with control of all things tech, Robin respected him and was pretty determined to make sure he didn't 'die', even if it meant Vision wasn't created. But if you thought about it, no Vision meant Rhodes wouldn't loose his ability to walk, but on the other hand it could mean Ultron could win and the world would be destroyed. He'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

Meanwhile, his feelings for Tony continued to grow. It was a pesky thing, love. It started as a crush on a fictional character and grew into deep admiration and adoration for a selfless man with an incredible heart who was exceptionally easy on the eyes. Tony's flirting didn't help, and honestly, Robin was this close to saying hell with it and confessing. The only thing stopping him was the fact that if he started a relationship with Tony, BIG IF, he'd have to tell him the truth. The engineer deserved that much, and if their relationship got intimate, he didn't think he'd be able to shoulder the guilt of hiding where he came from. Tony may not believe him and think him crazy, or he'd believe him and resent him for keeping so much to himself when the genius could have done so much with the information. Robin had considered telling him, but he feared that all it would do was put more pressure on the hero's shoulders, pressure he wouldn't be able to handle alone, and perhaps he'd do more to keep his position as the Avengers' punching bag, just so they'd be a united front for when Thanos arrived. So Robin kept his distance, as much as he didn't want to. Not ready to reveal and scared of doing so.

He shook the depressing thoughts out of his head, as Tony landed and walked into the penthouse, his armor detaching from his body was incredibly cool to watch live. "How are we doing?," Tony asked as he approached his friend and assistant who sipping a champagne flute of orange juice. "No clue, but according to JARVIS, you're a genius," Robin stated as the man poured himself some champagne, "Thank you very much, I take full credit." Tony watched his assistant as he asked JARVIS about something on one of the screens.

The man was breathtakingly gorgeous, Tony wondered if he knew it. The genius wondered if the Brit knew how heads turned when he walked into a room, his easy charm and dimpled grin attracting both genders of varying age groups. Yet he never seemed interested. Tony hummed, it seemed like he was developing feelings for his assistant, again. Only Robin wasn't Pepper. Robin wouldn't ask him to give up Iron Man, and Robin listened to him and in the year he'd known him, never jumped to conclusions when it came to Tony's seemingly rash decisions. Tony paused at the sound of his assistant's laughter, a smile pulling at his lips, he needed to sleep on it. It had been months since the breakup with Pepper, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to move on. He couldn't hurt his friend by making him the rebound. No, he'd contemplate it carefully, analyze his thoughts and emotions and Robin's receptiveness to a relationship with him. Then and only then, would he woo his pretty archer.

"Yo, boss, you've got a guest," Robin stated pulling Tony from his thoughts. Tony cocked his head, "Agent Coulson, I believe Sir," JARVIS explained. Tony sighed, SHIELD never got the message, they would not leave him alone. The elevator dinged and Tony pointedly ignored the Agent who stepped out. "Mr Stark, Mr Payne," Coulson greeted. "Agent, how may we help you?," Robin asked politely, noticing Tony was being playing silent. "We need Iron Man Stark," Coulson stated holding out a tablet. Robin bit back a scoff, how rude.

"I don't like being handed things"

"I'll take that," Robin snapped, snatching it from the agent and tossing at Tony, who thankfully caught it, connecting it to his more advanced system immediately. Robin proceeded to ignore the rest of the conversation, instead concentrating on the profiles of the rest of the Avengers, pausing on Captain America. " He looks pretty hot for an old guy," Robin hummed, not noticing the glare he got at the statement. " If you're into guys old enough to be your grandfather sure," Tony grumbled. He looked through the files quickly, sighing as he got to the part about the Tesseract. 

Robin sipped his drink, "Want me to tell Pepper?"

"You're a lifesaver"

"Its outside working hours, you'll owe me"

"Whatever you wish, my darling Robin Hood"

"Get going Stark"

"So pushy"

Robin rolled his eyes as Tony took off. "JARVIS, keep a com line open please", the AI did so as Robin texted his other boss. 

'Real dramatic Tony', Robin thought to himself as he watched Tony approach Cap and Loki through the cameras in the suit. He watched the feed closely, "Well he has gorgeous eyes doesn't he?," Robin hummed out loud, looks like those fanfics may have had some truth to them. "Depends on ones taste I believe sir," JARVIS replied making Robin smile, "True, I personally prefer darker eyes, easier to get lost in". "Noted, I'll update your social media account" "Thanks JARVIS"

"Is Tony in the helicarrier?," He asked as the feed was cut off. "Yes, and I have entered SHIELD's database". Robin heard the silent question, "I've always wondered what kind of secrets spy agencies hold." He took a seat, eyes gleaming with curiosity as JARVIS began speeding through files, leaving the more interesting ones open for Robin to go through. 

Meanwhile, on the helicarrier, Tony was starting to wish he'd gone back to the Tower. The company was shit and the toys were worse. He honestly couldn't understand everyone's obsession with the Captain America. The blonde oozed self-righteousness, and was so quick to judge him, measuring him against his father, an abusive drunk. Everyone here looked at him with distaste and annoyance. Would it kill them to be polite? With the acceptation of Banner, who seemed rather, well for lack of a better adjective, timid, it was a waste of his time being here. But here he was trying to pull Big Green out of his shell. It was working too, until Star Spangled Goodness walked in. The result was an argument he rather not repeat. He was fairly certain JARVIS had recorded it, and even more certain Robin had watched it.

JARVIS rather liked Robin, and the Brit's ability to force Tony into eating and sleeping at a decent hour without yelling or threatening him. The two could be rather vicious together, he was fairly certain he'd seen them messing with the traffic light system so one of the Directors of the company was late to a very important meeting. Pepper wasn't impressed with the man. And Robin was incredibly cheerful for the rest of the week. He shook his head, he really needed to stop thinking about the brunette. And concentrate on the mission on hand. Then there was an explosion.

It wasn't until later, as they sat in one of the conference rooms, grieving over Agent Coulson's death, and analyzing Loki's words did he realize he'd forgotten something incredibly vital. "A beacon for all mankind. Stark Tower", he stated. The others looked at him in confusion. He didn't bother explaining. He didn't even bother snapping back at the Captain's remark about it being ugly, before suiting up and flying as fast as he could.

His archer was at the Tower.

Alone with a god, a superhuman being, who could mind control him or worse. Kill him.

"J, talk to me now"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter up! The first Avengers movie might be a little sped through and timelines might be a bit messed up. But I hope its alright. 
> 
> Please comment


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One word is all that is needed- LOKI

Robin wasn't really sure what to do when he heard JARVIS state that Dr Selvig was on the roof with the Tesseract. He acknowledged the fact, than moved to the bar and opened a bottle of whiskey. Tony would be on his way, he should try not to panic. Keyword:TRY.

Sure he could have left the Tower, it wasn't like he didn't know it would be Loki's destination the moment he got out of the helicarrier, but he honestly didn't want to. Loki could be a huge asset to Tony and the fight against Thanos. He was ruthlessly intelligent and would probably do anything to save his skin. His magic was also a big plus. He could also admit that the fanboy in him really wanted to meet the God of Mischief face to face. This would be a dream come true if it wasn't for the fact Loki would probably try to kill him. So, he was going to ignore JARVIS' pleading to get to safety and stay right where he was and do something stupid. Because for all the bad guy propaganda the dude had going on in the Thor movies, the poor guy never got a break. First, he was lied to by the man he called father, then he was mind-controlled by a monster and later thrown into prison without a chance to defend himself. Sue him, he had a soft spot for the guy. He seemed like someone he'd genuinely get along with, when he wasn't poking people's eyeballs out at least.

JARVIS grew silent, and Robin heard the sound of footsteps.

Well. Here he goes. 

Loki was pretty with his eyes glowing the same artificial blue as the stone in the scepter. He was prettier when they were green and he wasn't being mind-controlled. "Who are you?," Loki asked, looking actually confused, guess Barton didn't inform him of Stark's assistant. Why would he? SHIELD dismissed him as a non-threat. Robin didn't answer straight away, staring thoughtfully at the stone in the scepter. He flinched when Loki moved in front of him, a snarl twisting his features as he grabbed Robin by the throat. The archer didn't struggle, knowing he'd end up hurting himself worse. "I'm not really important at the moment, but you are. Who are you?," the pressure on his throat increased as he felt himself being held off the ground, breathing was starting to get difficult. "You are the God of Lies and Mischief, you fell from the bridge and someone found you," the hand tightened and Robin began to see dark spots. " I doubt he made you any promises of glory, he probably tortured you until you agreed to do his bidding. Now you're playing a servant to a delusional purple monster. A mere pawn," Robin gasped for breath as he was dropped. Looking up he found Loki's eyes a dark forest green, blinking at him in confusion. Before the god could say anything, Tony entered the penthouse, and captured the beings attention. His eyes had flickered back to blue, but Robin figured he'd accomplished something. As Tony distracted him, Robin made his way to the elevator.

He'd let the fight continue, he'd hide out with the bots until then, trying to keep his mind off the fact within an hour or so Tony would be flying off into the abyss of space. While he wouldn't be able to stop Tony from doing it, he'd sure as hell be there for him when he faced the aftermath. 

Tony thought he felt his heart stop when JARVIS showed him the live feed of Robin being held in the air by Loki as he was en route to the Tower. He couldn't hear what was being said, due to the cameras being partially damaged, but whatever it was he was grateful when the god dropped the Brit. Tony immediately pulled his attention towards himself as Robin got away. He'd be having an important chat with his assistant about self-preservation skills once this was over.

Tony couldn't help the intense fear he felt as he entered the wormhole. He called Pepper and was about to leave a message for Robin when the signal was cut off and he found himself getting colder. It went dark.

He woke to the Hulk in his face and the Captain standing over him. He just sighed before getting up, he was sore but he'd live. Besides, they had to retrieve a Norse god from the floor of his penthouse.

Robin was waiting for him at his bar. A stupid move, considering Loki was still embedded in his gorgeous tiled floor, even if the god was unconscious. Tony couldn't find it in himself to yell at his PA, as he found himself with an armful of Robin Payne clinging onto him tightly. The man than pushed him away before slapping him. "Never do that again you absolute idiotic excuse for a genius," Robin snapped before hugging him again. "No promises Hood," Tony mumbled into the soft wavy hair. Robin nodded into his chest before letting go of him. He moved away from the genius as the Avengers came in through the elevator. They ignored the two of them and moved towards the indent in the ground, while Bruce gave a Tony a shy smile, a smaller one towards Robin, inching towards them instead of following Cap.

Robin watched them _capture_ Loki with a small satisfied smile that no one really noticed. He was a little annoyed none of the Avengers actually gave him a second glance. Was he invisible or something? He shrugged and ordered pizza and called Pepper. They'd need to remodel the building and figure out some aid and relief programs for New York. Hopefully, Tony wouldn't invite the avengers to stay. Except maybe Bruce, the guy was sweet, other than his penchant for running from his problems he was a pretty cool guy. Robin watched silently as Tony and the others saw Thor off with a muzzled Loki. He came to stand beside Bruce, handing the man a cup of hot tea. At the man's enquiring look, "I'm British which means I like my tea. Tony keeps a stock of my favorites. He rarely touches the stuff though," Robin explained. "Thanks" They both continued to watch as Thor disappeared in a stream of light. 

"Well, that's that," Tony hummed as he approached the duo, raising an eyebrow at the cups they each held. "I was barely gone for twenty minutes and you held a tea party without me?," he gasped. " What's going to happen with the scepter and the tesseract?," Robin asked watching as a Hydra-disguised-as-SHIELD agent picked up the briefcase holding the scepter. "SHIELD's going to deal with it I imagine, the tesseract's going back with Thor," Tony shrugged watching carefully as the agents filed out of his building leaving only Rogers, Romanoff and Barton. 

'Here it comes', Robin thought as he sipped his cooling tea.

"Stark," Rogers stood in front of him.

"Rogers", Tony looked at him expectantly.

"We'll see you around", they walked into the elevator. 

"Rude", Robin scoffed earning wide eyed stares of surprise from both Bruce and Tony. "What? They could have at least thanked you for flying the nuke into a wormhole. Or is that beneath them?." Tony chuckled at the archer's outburst. "So Jolly Green, you're welcome to stay at the Tower, I'm sure we can include a Smash Room for the Hulk during the renovation," Tony smiled. Bruce looked unsure, but gave a tentative nod. "Great JARVIS will show you to a guest room and we'll leave you till dinner get's here." Bruce nodded and headed towards the elevator, JARVIS directing him. Tony turned to Robin. " I do believe we need to talk", he stated. Robin gulped, the gesture reminding him of his sore throat," What about?."

"What did you tell Loki?"

"I asked him who he was"

Tony stared at him, incredulity in his eyes. "You asked him who he was? That's it? That made him drop you?," Tony tried to keep disbelief out of his voice, he was pretty sure the archer was telling the truth. "His eyes were the same color as Barton's when he was being mind controlled, did you see them when Thor slapped those shackles on him? Dark green, not blue" Robin shrugged. Understanding lit Tony's eyes. "There's someone else behind the whole thing. Someone bigger," he groaned and rubbed his face, "Thanks for the image Rob, sleeping’s going to be torture." "Sorry," the archer truly felt terrible, but he needed Tony to understand that the god was relatively innocent. "So, if that's it," Robin inched towards the elevator, hoping the damage to his apartment was minimal and wanting to grab a shower. "Hey Hood, don't put yourself in danger like that. If JARVIS says leave, do it. Please. I don't think I have the time to train a new assistant," Tony practically whispered. Robin smiled at the genius," No promises, but I'll try". 

"By the way, I had JARVIS move your stuff to the Tower when Coulson came by. Figured it'd be easier if my assistant was on hand"

"Thanks boss. See ya tomorrow, and try and get some sleep"

Robin showered and changed into his night clothes, prepared to fall into bed and into Morpheus' arms. That said, the shriek he released when he saw the figure on his bed was totally due to his exhaustion. Totally. "That was quick," he spluttered trying not to blush as the green eyed god smirked at him. " I do believe we've yet to be introduced properly," Loki hummed as he stared at the brunette who sat on the floor in front of him with a covered yawn. "Robin Payne, I'm not exactly from around here," he sighed. Twenty minutes later had both Robin and Loki laying side by side on the bed, staring at the ceiling, "That's quite the tale, and unfortunately you're not lying. What do you intend to do about the Mad Titan?," Loki asked calmly. "Collect the stones and hide them, find a way to stop Thanos from getting any of them. I have no clue. Its difficult when you’re one person, stuck on Earth with no connections whatsoever," the archer replied tiredly. "You have me and you have the Man of Iron, who you've yet to tell, perhaps for a good reason and we have time, and one stone," Loki hummed. Robin sat up, "What?" Loki smirked and flicked his wrist and the tesseract was in his hand, another flick and it was gone.

"Right, well one down five to go. You're very calm about this. Are you planning to kill me or something?," Robin asked half-teasingly. Though by the way the trickster tensed it was obvious he'd struck a nerve. The temperature of the room dropped drastically. "Loki?," Robin tried to keep the fear out off his voice. "I do not enter partnerships lightly mortal. If I wanted you dead you will be and if you cross me I will have no qualms about murdering you," he ground out. Robin shivered violently, "I didn't mean it like that mate, I was teasing." The temperature increased back to normal but Robin burrowed under the covers, still feeling the chill. Loki looked confused with a touch of regret in his eyes, "I did not mean to..." the god trailed off. "Its cool man, I totally get the betrayal thing. Just I'll watch your back and you watch mine?," Robin shrugged. Loki nodded and offered his hand, " That will do". Robin shook it confidently. Hopefully, the decision to put his trust in Loki wouldn't come back and bite him in the ass.

Robin yelped as he woke up to find Loki in bed with him, green eyed staring with amusement as he placed a hand on his chest. "Why? Are you trying to kill me?," Robin whined, he paused," Were you here the entire night?." Loki cocked his head to the side, "I may have taken a small trip to Asgard to check on my illusion. I only returned a few hours ago." "Cool, well I'm going to shower and then we'll figure out where you're going to stay," Robin stated as he stretched. Loki leered at the young man," I'm quite comfortable where I am." Robin glanced back as he stood at the bathroom door, "And I love having a handsome man in my bed, but its going to be terribly difficult to explain to my boss. You know, the guy you threw out of the window." 

When Robin got out off the shower, Loki was gone. The Brit merely shrugged and headed to the workshop to check on Tony. "Good morning," Robin chirped, startling the man, who whipped around gauntlet charging. Robin ducked instinctively,"Don't shoot." 

Tony winced, "Sorry Hood. I was watching the footage of the fight. I'm a little wound up"

"Little?," Robin scoffed, before sighing," Do you think you would be open to talking to someone about what you saw?"

"Hood, no "

"Tony"

"Drop it"

"Fine, but we'll come back to it sooner or later"

"Good Robin"

Robin rolled his eyes but settled into the couch in the workshop, picking up a stray tablet, he logged into his email. Deciding to get some work done while keeping the genius company. That didn't mean he was oblivious to the glances the genius was giving him. "What is it Stark?," Robin asked, he never liked the feeling of eyes on him, gave him the newbie jeebies. Tony turned to face him, leaning against his work bench. "Who's eyes do you like better, mine or Captain Spangles?," he asked seriously. Robin stared at the man for a long silent moment," Yours, I like darker eyes," Robin turned back to his tablet, ignoring the blush that was threatening to paint his pale skin. "I believe he finds them easier to get lost in, sir," JARVIS decided to add, to Robin's annoyance. "Really now?," Tony chuckled as his PA turned a delicious shade of blush, whispers of traitorous AI filling the air for a moment. Tony sauntered towards the man on the couch, movements slow and purposeful. "So Mr Payne." Robin looked up at the older man, his heart rate speeding up as the man got closer, "Mr Stark?," why did he sound so breathless? "If I was to ask you," Tony trailed off, a hint of nervousness in his tone. "Yes?" "If I was to ask you......" 

They were interrupted by the sound of Robin's ringtone. Robin could have cried, instead he smiled apologetically at Tony and answered the call.

"Payne"

"Hello darling. I believe I'm in need of some assistance", a smooth deep voice hummed over the line.

"Who, wait LO... LOGAN? Where'd you get my number? When did you learn to use a phone?," the disbelief in Robin's voice had Tony holding back a chuckle, despite the older man's annoyance at being interrupted.

"A conversation for later. I'm currently in what you Midgardians call a zoo, it would be best if you got here immediately"

Before Robin could question the god further, he hung up. What a diva. Robin stood up abruptly, "I'm so sorry Tony, we'll have to finish this conversation later. A friend of mine is somewhere in Central Park and if I don't get to him there'll be chaos. I'll catch you later alright," Robin blurted, giving the engineer a quick one-armed hug he rushed out of the workshop, leaving Tony staring after him. "Well that didn't go as planned," a soft sigh," pull up the schematics for the suit J." "Right away sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They had a slumber party!  
What's Loki gonna do at the zoo? Find out in the next chapter.  
Please comment!

**Author's Note:**

> Tony deserves more! Team Tony Forever!!!!!


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